The Japanese equivalents of Jim Carey and Steve Martin will descend upon Jasper this weekend for the Canadian Rockies Snow Battle.
According to Tourism Jasper, the a-list Japanese celebrities are travelling to Jasper, along with a film crew, to capture footage of the park and Saturday's snowball fight at Centennial Park. That footage is for a Japanese television show, which loosely translates to, Quest to the End of the World. The program appears on Nippon TV and is exceptionally popular in Japan, reaching 18 million viewers.
The television network and celebrities are interested in Jasper because of the snow battle鈥攁 sport that originated in Japan during the 1980s.
The sport, which is called Yukigassen in Japan, is like a cross between dodgeball and capture the flag. Two teams of seven face-off on a 40-metre-long court and attempt to either capture the opposing team鈥檚 flag, or eliminate their team members by hitting them with snowballs. On the court are three shelters per team and one shared shelter on the centre line, allowing team members a place to hide and catch their breath.
Following last year's Canadian Rockies Snow Battle, the winning team鈥擡dmonton's Ball Fondlers鈥攖ravelled to Japan to compete in the 25th world championships.
This year, Japan is coming to them, with the Japanese celebrities hitting the snow court on Saturday.
During the match, the film crew will be there to capture footage of the team as it competes against Canadian snow-throwers.
Tourism Jasper invites the community to head down to Centennial Park on Saturday to cheer on the snow battle teams and to possibly land a cameo on Japanese TV.
Matches kick off at 10 a.m. and will carry on throughout the day. There will be hot chocolate and coffee on site and prizes and giveaways taking place throughout the day.
Nicole Veerman
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